Mo. 'Speed Traps' Take Aim at School-Funding Law

Drive with a heavy foot in the rural Missouri hamlets of Macks Creek
and Curryville, and you can expect to pay a hefty fine.

Until recently, what local officials characterize as "effective"
enforcement of speeding laws has proved a lucrative source of revenue
for each city's coffers.

But, thanks to a new state law--which lawmakers concede was prompted
by both towns' statewide reputation as speed traps--much of the revenue
from traffic fines in each county will now go instead to help
schools.

The change has prompted officials in both cities to challenge the
constitutionality of the new law in state circuit court.

Mayor Gerald Hoskins of Macks Creek, population 316, argues that the
issue of school funding obscures a more important concern. That, he
says, is the unwarranted intrusion into local affairs by state
government.

He and his counterparts in Curryville, which boasts 326 residents,
say the amount of money that would go to the public schools under the
new law would be insignificant.

'We Don't Trap Them'

"Where the revenue would go would be irrelevant," Mr. Hoskins said
last week. "It would not be depriving the schools of anything. It just
wouldn't be a factor in school funding."

City officials were angered because legislators tacked the speeding
provisions onto a law that dealt with revoking drivers' licenses.

The speeding amendment requires any town that generates more than 45
percent of its annual revenue from traffic fines on state highways to
turn over the excess to its county's public schools.

Both towns lie along U.S. Highway 54, a state-maintained and
regulated road that runs northeast to southwest through the central
part of the state.

The Missouri auditor's office estimates that about three-fourths of
Macks Creek's annual revenues--$216,000 last year--came from court
fines. About 65 percent of those fines were speeding tickets.

Roughly 70 percent of Curryville's $269,000 annual budget came from
court fines, though it was unclear what percentage of those fines were
speeding tickets.

William Cheeseman, Curry-ville's city attorney, said local police do
not ticket drivers unless they are exceeding the speed limit by 10
mph.

"Any place where the speed is strictly enforced, it's going to be
called a speed trap," he said. "But we don't trap them."

Mayor Hoskins said tickets aren't issued in Macks Creek unless
drivers exceed the limit by 15 mph. The speed limit on U.S. 54 outside
Macks Creek is 55, but signs warn that the limit drops to 45 mph at the
city limits.

Divided Views

Local school officials have taken no official position on the
lawsuit.

But residents of both towns are divided as to the appropriateness of
raising municipal revenue through speeding enforcement, and about the
effectiveness of the new law.

Larry King, the superintendent of the Macks Creek R-5 school
district, argues that because his school borders Highway 54, the new
law may increase the likelihood of traffic accidents by taking money
away from law enforcement.

Noting that several roads enter the highway near his school, he
argued that ticketing speeders makes the area much safer. "It's just
simply an area where 45 miles per hour is reasonable," he said.

His enthusiasm for the speeding law, however, is not shared by Ron
Hendricks, the superintendent of the Camdenton R-3 district, a few
miles west of Macks Creek.

Both cities are in Camden County, and because the Camdenton district
enrolls more students than Macks Creek, it stands to benefit if the new
law is upheld in the courts.

But Mr. King's concerns about safety aside, Mr. Hendricks said he
personally believes Macks Creek has been overzealous in enforcing speed
limits. That, he says, has given local tourism a black eye.

"As a resident of this area, I do think it's a disgrace to pull
people over in that town who are going five miles over the limit," he
said. "It's a trap. That's the way I look at it."

Vol. 15, Issue 05

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